what do you think of this tiling? - Tile Advice

[sdm1964]

Hi everyone. I'm after some genuine comments on a job that someone did for me recently. I'd just like to get an idea of what people think of the work. I'm not going to say anymore than that, but any constructive criticism I would greatly appreciate. The photos are of a shower niche, and the rest are where the walls meet the ceiling. Thanks.

 

[bsc ceramics]

The tiling itself looks fine, i would have mitred the corners on the trim but thats just how
i do it i know some tiles dont, but its the setting out thats not great with that little sliver
of tile at the top, but without seeing the whole room its difficult to tell but we try to get away
from small cuts like that.

 

[Richard2021]

The silicone around the niche is a bit heavy handed . Joint gets narrower from left to right along the sill . As said above the layout may not have been too well thought out

 

[Dave]

Any pics from further back ?

 

[sdm1964]

The silicone around the niche is a bit heavy handed . Joint gets narrower from left to right along the sill . As said above the layout may not have been too well thought out

Hi Richard - it's actually grout not silicon. The bottom tile in the niche is not level, plus I'm not sure if you have noticed, but the bottom trim casts a shadow on the tile as it isn't actually flush with the tile. So even though the bottom tile does have a bit of a slope on it, the lip stops the water from draining away.

 

[sdm1964]

The tiling itself looks fine, i would have mitred the corners on the trim but thats just how
i do it i know some tiles dont, but its the setting out thats not great with that little sliver
of tile at the top, but without seeing the whole room its difficult to tell but we try to get away
from small cuts like that.

Hi bsc - thanks for the comment. That is the first thing I noticed when I saw the tiling before it was grouted. I said to my builder that he should have started with a half tile, but his answers was that if you cut the base tile, it would crack. I didn't want to argue with him, even though it sounded like BS.

 

[sdm1964]

Any pics from further back ?

Afraid not. All I remember was that they did take a lot of time to ensure the first course of tiles were put in level, and then just tiled off of that.

 

[bsc ceramics]

Hi bsc - thanks for the comment. That is the first thing I noticed when I saw the tiling before it was grouted. I said to my builder that he should have started with a half tile, but his answers was that if you cut the base tile, it would crack. I didn't want to argue with him, even though it sounded like BS.

thats rubbish why would they crack. how does he think we tile? why wont the sliver at the top crack then?

 

[sdm1964]

thats rubbish why would they crack. how does he think we tile? why wont the sliver at the top crack then?

His answer was the weight of the tiles on the base tile would cause them to crack. And that this had happened to him before. I've no experience using large format tiles, so it's not something that I could argue with. Plus at that point it was a bit late for me to be saying take it all down and start again. But what I did know from the outset was how awful it looked, and had I planned to use a contrasting grout it would have looked horrendous. First world problems, I know, but when you are paying someone a lot of money, you kind of want things to look nice.

 

[sdm1964]

thats rubbish why would they crack. how does he think we tile? why wont the sliver at the top crack then?

Can I just your advice about the bathroom niche. As it stands, water pools in there because builder has left a lip with the trim, which he was going to use to put a silicon line in. But this is not going to change the fact that water pools in there. What would be the best way to do this?

 

[bsc ceramics]

Hes talking rubbish, dont let him fool you.

 

[Richard2021]

Maybe break out the bottom tile in the niche and replace at the right height . How high is that lip ? Do you know how it was waterproofed ?

 

[sdm1964]

Maybe break out the bottom tile in the niche and replace at the right height . How high is that lip ? Do you know how it was waterproofed ?

Hi Richard - I think it's about 3 millimetres. That's exactly what he was going to do, but we have parted company so will probably have to do it myself. There is tile board behind it all, and then some kind of waterproof adhesive. Then grout. I think that's all. Would you tile right up to and flush with the trim, or leave a gap for some grout. I'm really unsure of the correct way to do this. I know there needs to be a slight slope on the bottom tile. Would you use silicone anywhere? Any help would be great!